Investment bankers' job is to allocate tens of millions of shares. Individual investors trade in small 100-1,000 share lots.
Having an individual trade close at $50.09 doesn't mean you'll be able to move tens of millions of shares at $50.09.
Having an individual trade close at $50.09 doesn't mean you'll be able to move tens of millions of shares at $50.09.
The IPO process is more or less bankers emailing clients asking "Hey, want to buy this brand new company at $26? How about $32?" You essentially have to make a decision without information on how other buyers behave, which forces conservative behavior.